Fleeing
by MHZn'EARTH
Summary: A short story about Ahsoka and one dark fated night during the early days of Order 66. War takes its toll on everyone, even the Jedi.


This is a very short, single-chapter story about Ahsoka and Order 66. I kind of wrote it on the fly, just a random thought that I put down on paper to be typed later on. This story is probably a little different from the other Ahsoka stories that you've read but I still hope that you enjoy reading it. I now present you with…

**Fleeing**

The harsh ringing of machine gun fire is coming from all around me as I stumble through the dark woods. Raging fires stretch through the trees, burning them down, turning the forest into one blazing inferno. One giant hellish place. The night sky above is blacked out by the thick smoke that now fills my lungs. I'm coughing, gagging, and wheezing for breath. Blinded by the fire and smoke, I thrash through the flaming foliage. Only the Force guides me through this nightmare.

Another spurt of gunfire cuts through the night and I hear agonizing screams quickly followed by more shots. The screams die and I know that one of my friends has fallen. Another one gone. Terrified, I pick up my speed. For every second that goes by my enemies are getting closer to closing the gap between me and them. It's a horrible thing to know that the people chasing me get to determine how much longer I'll live. Will it be a single gunshot to the head or public torture and a slow death? I am determined not to find out… **_Boom_**! A grenade explodes; the ground trembles and my weak legs nearly give out. I regain my balance and continue my escape from the forest. I charge straight through a cluster of burning brush, oblivious to the painful burns covering my body. The enemy is closer than I thought.

_Clink, clank! Clink, clank!_ The clanging gears of an AT-RT alert me of danger. The two legged walker is somewhere nearby, hidden by the smoke. The sounds of shooting and far away explosions are all disorienting. Noise is coming from everywhere at once. _Clink, clank! Clink clank!_ It's closer now. Beside me? Suddenly the trees directly ahead erupt in red flames from a barrage of lasers. I dive to the ground and lay flat. The lasers miss me by mere centimeters and streak across the forest. The gun shooting the lasers is emitting a screeching metallic noise that fills the night. For several seconds I lay on the ground, shaking, waiting for the barrage to end. Soon it does. I look up.

A burning line of forestry has been cut out ahead of me. It forms a crude path laced high with flames. The end of the path is shrouded by a black veil of smoke drifting slowly through the scorched air. The smoky veil bulge and bends as something moves behind it. Bloodied and burned, I stumble to my feet. My head is reeling. Vision is crooked. The smoke ahead of me bulges again before peeling back. A tall figure steps from the clouds. An Imperial walker. The enemy has arrived. The AT-RT's silver armor glistens in the firelight. The gun is pointed at me.

Combat imminent. I react on instinct, moving my hands down towards my lightsabers. There is a sense of courage in my spirit that's telling me that I will win. '_Fight! Kill! Leave no prisoners!' _it shouts. _'Attack low, attack high!' _But then something else takes hold of my spirit. Slowly, I look at the enemy. There he is, ready for battle. Courage dies and fear becomes all that I know. At one point I would have fought. Back then I would have displayed power and strength. No longer. Not anymore. Those days will never come again.

The AT-RT pilot watches me from his perch. Even from over fifteen yards of smoke I can see the clone trooper nod his head. A simple gesture. He wants to fight in a duel. One on one. The pilot is probably a veteran, over-confident in all his past victories and determined to claim another one. To him it's just another battle. That is how I used to be. I know by challenging me the pilot is disobeying orders. He has been instructed to shoot Jedi on sight, yet he has taken the risk to create his own game. In a strange way I admire this trooper. He fights by his own rules. I really like that, but I won't accept the challenge. Too many people have died in this war. Friends, allies, and family. More blood will only lead to more tragedy. I'm scared, scarred, and beaten. War is of no use to me. I don't want to fight anymore. I won't fight for, or against, anyone. I am giving up; I'm giving out. Another distant explosion lights the night. More screams as more are killed.

A single tear falls from my eye, sweeping down my dirty face. It's over. Shaking my head and sobbing, I turn and flee, disappearing into the forest.

Burning trees are blurred by my tears. They are blurred by the tears that now flow freely from my eyes. The heat from the fires is scorching me and evaporating the teardrops. "_I want to get out of here!" _is what I scream in my mind. I trip and fall and go skidding down a hill. My skin is cut into by thorns and brambles. I don't know how long I slide but I soon find myself crashing through a barrier of trees. The pain is horrible but I still force myself to stand. The first thing I notice is the cool night air against my wounds. There is still smoke but it has thinned out. The air is so much more clear! I try to fill my lungs with a deep breath but only launch into a fit of coughing. It doesn't last long and soon I can breathe, at last. Looking up I see a dark sky strewn with stars. Beautiful.

I allow myself to fall to my knees. I am filled with powerful emotions that I've never felt before and I'm trembling terribly. For some reason I feel a sense of joy. Why? Even I don't know. What I do know is that right there, kneeling on the ground, I cry out into the empty night.


End file.
